The Prevention of Obesity

Until we have better data about the risks of being overweight and the benefits and risks of trying to lose weight, we should remember that the cure for obesity may be worse than the condition.” Thus wrote Kassirer and Angell in their editorial in the Journal last year1 on a study by Stevens et al. of body mass and mortality in a cohort followed from 1960 through 1972.2 In this issue of the Journal, Calle et al. report on body mass and mortality in a cohort followed from 1982 through 1996.3 Both studies used data from the American Cancer Society. . . .